Over the weekend, food lovers from across the North West came together in Stanley Park to celebrate the delicious food and drink the region has on offer. The festival featured a jam-packed schedule with over 100 stalls to indulge in, as well as guest appearances from celebrity chefs including Simon Rimmer and Dave Mooney.

Visitors of the festival were lucky enough to enjoy a range of irresistible regional treats in the sunshine, from juicy burgers to cinnamon spiced churros. There was something for everyone at the festival, whether sampling the latest creations from the North West or showing off produce – it was a dream foodie’s day out!

Did you attend @NWFoodLovers’ over the weekend? We’d love to hear about your highlights from the day on our Twitter.

American bakes have become a hit all over the world for their rich indulgent flavours and this year’s Independence Day baking was certainly testament to that. Bakers from all over the North West have been inspired by American flavours to create bolder, bigger and even more delicious creations. So we’ve put together a little inspiration so your business can whip up a selection of USA themed treats.

Apple pie

Could there be a more quintessentially American bake than apple pie? Rich buttery pie crust encasing spiced cinnamon apples couldn’t be more enjoyable. We’d suggest serving warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream to make the most of those classic flavours.

New York berry cheesecake

Embracing the red, white and blue colours of the American flag doesn’t have to involve fancy decoration. Simply prepare a creamy New York cheesecake and add a topping of fresh blueberries and strawberries for a patriotic treat. The smooth white cheesecake filling contrasts perfectly with the vibrant blue and red fruit topping, not to mention it tastes delicious!

Bacon and maple syrup cupcakes

For customers after a truly indulgent 4th July treat, look no further. Crispy bacon and sweet maple syrup make a classic pancake topping in the US, but why not add a twist of your own and use those flavours in cupcakes? A cupcake enriched with light brown sugar creates the perfect base for a sticky maple syrup buttercream. Next, for a show stopping topping, a generous sprinkle of crushed crispy bacon is sure to do the trick.

Patriotic cake pops

To get into the Independence Day spirit without making any elaborate changes to your menu, why not serve some red, white and blue cake pops? You can easily create a range of coloured cake pops with our range of white chocolate coatings as they can easily be coloured to match the shades of the American flag. For a truly American twist, how about creating red velvet flavoured cake pops?

Smores brownies

Combining two classic American desserts is sure to be a popular option with customers, particularly when brownies are involved! Smores are typically enjoyed in front of a campfire as a chocolate and marshmallow topped biscuit is toasted. Although, customers can still enjoy smores from the comfort of your own business when baked into brownies; simply press a biscuit and melted butter mixture into the base of a baking tin and top with brownie mix. Five minutes before the end of baking, add a topping of marshmallows and bake until golden.

Did you celebrate the 4th July during the weekend? Whether you enjoyed a slice of humble apple pie or whipped up something elaborate in the kitchen, we’d love to hear about it on Twitter.

This July, BAKO NW has teamed up with expert chocolatiers Callebaut to bring our Twitter followers an exciting competition.

We’re giving four of our fans the opportunity to win a luxury hamper of Callebaut chocolates for use in their own bakes.

To enter, followers simply need to tweet a picture of one of their chocolate creations using the hashtag #BakoChocolate.

We’ll be putting our top six favourites up to a vote and letting our blog readers decide their favourite bakes. As well as claiming the amazing chocolate prize, the most popular bake will also be invited to have their winning recipe created into an infographic for their own promotion.

To celebrate our latest competition with master chocolatiers Callebaut, we’ve put together an infographic of our own with some mouth-wateringly delicious tips, tricks and facts about baking with chocolate. Good luck to all who enter!